Politics

Minister Yun Assesses Importance of Foreign Ministers' Meeting

Write : 2016-08-24 09:07:47Update : 2016-08-24 10:06:36

South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se says that the timing of Wednesday's trilateral meeting with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts is of great importance due to ongoing disagreements among the three nations.

Speaking to reporters before his departure for Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon, Yoon said that the three-way gathering precedes a series of summit meetings in East Asia and comes as the three Northeast Asian countries, as well as other Asian nations, are faced with various challenges that hinder bilateral ties.

The trilateral talks come amid continued diplomatic feuds between China and South Korea due to Beijing's opposition to Seoul's THAAD deployment plan. Japan and China are also in a territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea.

Yun said the most important task of the foreign ministers’ meeting is to prepare for a summit between the three countries' heads of state later this year and draw consensus on re-institutionalizing the trilateral summit.

The minister added that in-depth discussions on how they will coordinate their joint response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats will also be on the agenda.

Yun hoped that through the ministers' meeting and the upcoming trilateral summit, the three countries will be able to further strengthen trilateral cooperation and contribute to improving relations in the Northeast Asian region.